1. Field of Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of beam construction for a hanger. More specifically, the present invention is related to a beam construction having increased strength and stability with reduced warping and material requirements.
2. Discussion of Prior Art
Pinch grip garment hangers are typically used to hold clothing and garments such as pants or skirts or undergarments. Therein, a garment hanger requires strength and stability to hold clothing of all weights and sizes. Garment hangers may be molded in one complete design or comprised of several parts, for example the hook or clips, attached to a molded body.
The strength and stability of the hanger comes from its beam design. Unfortunately, the hanger body or beam portion is subject to a substantial amount of wear and tear due to the heaviness or weight of the clothing material and frequent use. Particularly, a substantial amount of warping in molded hangers occurs in the beam. The designs currently used in the art do not provide a strong structure and therefore do not sufficiently address this problem.
Therefore, what is desired is a garment hanger having a beam construction that increases the strength of the beam to deter warping as well as to reduce the amount of material needed for construction. For example, a curved or inclined construction connecting a top and bottom part of a hanger beam is not described in the prior art and is desired. More specifically, what desired is a clothes hanger beam having a structural cross-section in the form of an “S” or “Z” shape.
It is known to use hanger beams of different designs.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,071,045 appears to disclose a standard “channel-back” design with a generally inverted U-shaped cross section. However, a curved, inclined, “S”- or “Z”-shape cross-section is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. Nos. 5,785,216; 6,085,950; 6,435,387; and 6,588,634 and U.S. Patent Application Publication 2003/0155387 appear to describe “M”-shaped cross-sections. The use of a curved, inclined, or an “S”- or “Z”-shaped cross section, however, is not disclosed.
U.S. Pat. No. 5,992,714 appears to show a double “I” cross-section. U.S. Pat. Des. 187,092 appears to disclose a similar double “I” cross-section that is separated by a gap. Neither reference, however, discloses a curved, inclined, “S”- or “Z”-shaped cross-section.